The invention relates generally to projectiles, and more particularly to a projectile system and method for impeding vessel movement on a water's surface.
Conventional methods and devices for impeding the movement of small surface vessels include deployable nets designed to foul the propeller mechanism of a vessel, fences, and fixed barriers. While generally effective at stopping small surface vessels, all are limited in terms of flexibility due to their small area of effect.
Accordingly Stationary barriers take time to set up and restrict both desirable and undesirable maritime traffic, and are passive defenses. Deployable nets, either shot from some launching apparatus or dropped into the water by a boat or aircraft, have limited range, cover a limited area, and require the target vessel to collide with the nets in order to be effective. Without any of these nonlethal options, lethal force can be used, but is much more prone to uncertainty. Moreover, net systems have negligible effect on surface vessels powered by jet propulsion systems.